The gap in experience between UFC
Fight Night 118 headliners Darren Till
and Donald
Cerrone is glaring, but it isn’t as significant as one might
think – at least according to the Englishman with four Octagon
appearances under his belt.

“Fighting isn’t about age or experience; it’s about intelligence,”
Till recently said. “I know I’m the most intelligent fighter out
there. I don’t think he’s half the fighter I am, I really
don’t.”

While Till doesn’t believe Cerrone is on his level, he still
respects the achievements of the Jackson-Wink MMA standout.

“I’m still a fan of Cowboy. He’s everything you want from a
fighter, that’s never going to change,” Till said. “I look up to
him and I respect him but, come fight night, I have to put all that
to one side and I’ll have to put my fist in his face. It’ll be no
different to any other opponent.”

Till is unbeaten in 16 professional outings, with the only blemish
on his ledger a majority draw against Nicolas
Dalby at UFC Fight Night 76 in October 2015. He enters UFC
Fight Night 118 on the strength of back-to-back triumphs over
Jessin
Ayari and Bojan
Velickovic and expects to reach new heights against
Cerrone.

“On Saturday, Cowboy will see a level that he has never ever seen
in his career before,” he said.

“I’ve been training for 14 years for this. I’ve sacrificed so much,
so on Saturday, it’s do or die. Saturday I go in there and make a
big statement.”

“The first round, I’m going to mentally break him, I know I am, and
he’s going to start questioning himself more as the fight goes on,”
Till said.

After earning a statement win against Cerrone, Till has big plans
that include headlining a card in his native country and following
in the footsteps of Michael
Bisping.

“The dream is to headline in my home town. I want to be the first
scouser to bring the UFC to Liverpool,” Till said. “Let’s get to
the Echo Arena, let’s get me a Top 10 opponent -- that will be one
of the most historical moments in my career.

“I have total faith and confidence in the fact that I’m going to be
the next British UFC world champion.”